The quality of electronic discharge summaries for post-discharge care: Hospital panel assessment and IT to support improvement

Authors

Year of Publication

2011

Source

Health Care and Informatics Review Online, 15 (1), 8-17

Publication Type

Journal article (peer reviewed)

Publication Status

Completed

Abstract

This paper assesses the quality of information in Electronic Discharge Summaries (EDSs) with respect to adequacy and specificity for optimal post-discharge care of the patient. The assessments were done by randomly selecting 40 EDSs of the patients discharged from two secondary care hospitals affiliated with Waitemata District Health Board and using a questionnaire with an expert panel composed of two medical specialists and a clinical coder. Irrelevant data in laboratory results, and insufficient management and follow up information to patients and primary care physicians were identified as the most common quality issues.